The public beta version of Sobees has been released by Switzerland-based deskNET. The application is designed to create a personalised desktop for every user's web homepage. Sobees' goal is quite different to many other start-ups. At the moment the trend seems to be to try to and create a successful desktop experience within the browser however Sobees are trying to create a service where widgets from social networking sites, news sites, weather providers and even YouTube videos can appear as a default on a customized desktop enviroment.
According to popular news site TechCrunch, the service is aimed to be simple enough to be easily setup and used by the average web user. Information that may be useful on a daily basis, such as the weather forecast for the following three days, will appear and refresh often, meaning the user does not have to have multiple window tabs open within a browser and switch between desktop and internet apps frequently.
The service is very similar to that of iGoogle, Netvibes and MyYahoo, as well as the widgets that can be added to a Mac or Windows Vista desktop. These will be the biggest challengers to the new beta version of Sobees.
The social features available for use on Sobees are likely to prove to be a huge benefit to the service. It is possible to interact with friends, integrate with video and photo sharing sites such as YouTube and also access Facebook and Twitter where it is possible to update personal status messages through Sobees.
The service plans to become profitable through search monetization, selling branded modules and advertising - but can an aggregator really complete with the businesses it plans to aggregate?
Well, it's clear that Sobees has prioritised usability and is planning to make an impact through its sleek design. And so far, the majority of responses on online posting sites appear to be positive. Many agree that this type of application would be very beneficial to older generations as the information they require is there and up to date at all times. However, in the long term, it appears that some of the public do not see this application becoming especially popular.
One major problem with the application at present is that it can only be installed if the machine is running Windows Vista / XP with the yet-to-be-distributed .Net Framework 3.5 SP1 although a Silverlight build is currently on the roadmap. Let's see what they do when the service comes out of Beta - they certainly will find their friend winning capabilities are limited until they make the service available to all platforms.
